Ms. Lennon: Changing Masterman's Narrative and Cultivating a Community

In eleventh grade, however, Ms. Lennon had negative experiences and numerous conflicts with her US History teacher (her first and only suspension came through his class), which dissuaded her from teaching history.

Although discouraged, Ms. Lennon would not be deterred from the idea of teaching. She realized that she had always had an affinity for math, stating, “Math always came naturally to me.” Her counselors suggested that she become a math teacher, and from that point, she pursued the career with virtue.

Ms. Lennon attended Delaware State University, an HBCU, and received her undergraduate degree in Mathematics Education in 2006. Following her graduation, she taught middle school math for seven years in the School District of Philadelphia. Ms. Lennon worked as a teacher at Gideon Elementary and Baldi Middle School and as an administrator at both Henry C. Lea Elementary School and High School of the Future. She also received a master's in School Leadership to earn her principal certificate.

While teaching, she fell in love with Special Education and obtained her master's in Special Education from Arcadia University. Ms. Lennon believes her purpose in life is to advocate for others who can’t advocate for themselves, which is why she was immediately drawn to assisting students with special needs.

“The largest minority in the world is people with disabilities,” Ms. Lennon explains. She wants to see the creation of more “growth-mindset” educators who can recognize that there are different learning styles and modalities that need to be addressed in current educational practices.

As a middle school teacher, Ms. Lennon and her students always heard that Masterman was an elite school, and didn’t encourage her students to apply because of the perception that Masterman was unattainable. As she developed as an educator and saw schools from an administrative perspective, she’s “gotten to see the other side of how schools operate and function, how they’re designed, and the uniqueness of those schools.”

Ms. Lennon sought to be an administrator at Masterman in order to change the negative narrative surrounding the school, especially for underrepresented groups across the district. “There are students who are highly qualified and meet the criteria and expectations for Masterman, but they’re not exposed to it.” As assistant principal, Ms. Lennon aims to eliminate the fear associated with applying to Masterman.

Ms. Lennon also wanted to experience working with academically talented students. Prior to Masterman, she had never worked at a school with a criteria-based admissions system. “Part of my professional growth is to be able to work and develop systems for not just the intervention of students in academic deficits, but also to provide enrichment opportunities.” One of Ms. Lennon’s main goals is to develop a program for students who meet the qualifications of “giftedness” to be able to have different educational experiences.

When she’s out of the office, Ms. Lennon enjoys traveling. “Any days I can take off, I’m somewhere else,” she says. “I’m quick to do a day trip I can drive to, or I’m on a plane getting stamps in my passport.” Her favorite and most recent expedition took her to the tropical beaches of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Ms. Lennon wishes to travel to Europe and Africa, as she has never been to those continents before. For the end of next year, she has planned a trip to Dubai, which she is looking forward to greatly.

“For me, traveling was a regular thing. When you grow up with immigrant parents, they go back and forth home,” Ms. Lennon says, referencing the frequent trips she’d take with her parents to Jamaica. In visiting Jamaica, she says her worldview has been impacted. “What I’ve learned and what’s humbled me is the realization that we are very fortunate and blessed… I think about my cousins and family who don’t have running water. Having a water tank and a water heater is a luxury.”

The tenacity and work ethic of Ms. Lennon’s immigrant parents gave her the drive to advocate for other students from different backgrounds. “Many of [Masterman’s] students share a similar background where their families are immigrants from other countries, and we want to make sure they have an affordable education.”

Having first-hand experience with the conditions of third-world countries made Ms. Lennon realize that the public school system in America is not doing enough to maximize its full potential and efficiency. “We have the opportunity and resources in America to do more, and we need to do that,” she states, “In other countries it’s very difficult to access education, and that ties into my purpose.”

Ms. Lennon describes herself as a social media junkie, spending a lot of time creating content on Instagram and TikTok, making cooking videos and binging shows on Netflix.

If she had a talk show, Ms. Lennon first considered having Jesus as her guest to hear what the future holds. Her second choice for a guest would be Beyoncé, because she wants to see how different she is as a human being. “Me and Beyoncé are similar in age,” she comments, noting that she thinks Beyoncé is no different than anyone else. “People idolize and worship her, …but are we idolizing the person or idolizing their actual gift?”

The message Ms. Lennon most wants to emphasize is about the school community: “Be proud to be a Blue Dragon. I want to see school pride, I want people to love their school.” Ms. Lennon wants Masterman students to believe that they belong and have a role. She references the creation of a new Masterman shirt, stating, “Branding and school pride, that's what makes your school experience so much greater.”